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laindarko2's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
I've just been having a hard time getting into books lately, so maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for this. Idk.
Love a lot of the concepts in here, but I think the attempt to include ~4 POV characters that we're meant to emotionally attach to plus the necessary world building in just ~300 pages didn't really work out. The writing style feels very summary-esque, so I never felt immersed in the world or particularly attached to any character. This would have worked better with just 1-2 POVs, or maybe as a series.
This also really gave me the craving to re-read The Golden Compass, so I think it might have been an unfair situation where the entire time I was reading this, I was thinking about a book I preferred.
Love a lot of the concepts in here, but I think the attempt to include ~4 POV characters that we're meant to emotionally attach to plus the necessary world building in just ~300 pages didn't really work out. The writing style feels very summary-esque, so I never felt immersed in the world or particularly attached to any character. This would have worked better with just 1-2 POVs, or maybe as a series.
This also really gave me the craving to re-read The Golden Compass, so I think it might have been an unfair situation where the entire time I was reading this, I was thinking about a book I preferred.
koman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
teajaykae's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
bookishactor's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Blackfish City is a dystopian cli-fi story set in a floating city after much of the world has been flooded. Income inequality, class, mysterious radio broadcasts, forbidden technology, and interesting characters abound. I had a bit of trouble following all the different POV chapters but I was also listening to the book on 1.7-2x to meet a book club deadline and also reading other books, so maybe that’s on me. I did find some of the ideas in the novel interesting, especially “the breaks.”
reginas_books's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought I would. The sprawl of characters was enjoyable, but some of the most pivotal characters didn't get enough fleshing out - either of their stories or their motivations.
I really enjoyed certain aspects of it, but I had higher hopes for this, having thoroughly enjoyed Boys, Beasts, & Men.
I really enjoyed certain aspects of it, but I had higher hopes for this, having thoroughly enjoyed Boys, Beasts, & Men.
usedcrock's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
peregrine's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the first half, which was mostly worldbuilding, and felt meh about the second half, which was mostly character. The world was amazing and the prose was great, and the characters seemed super cool in theory, but all felt kinda flat in practice. I couldn't get invested in any of them.